Hello All,

If all continues to go well, ABL Space Systems' RS1 launch vehicle will lift off today, from Pad 3C at the PSCA (Pacific Spaceport Complex - Alaska) on Kodiak island (see: https://www.spacelaunchschedule.com...-maiden-flight/ ). The two-stage, kerolox-powered RS1 rocket (see: https://www.google.com/search?q=abl...sclient=gws-wiz ) is carrying two satellites for L2 Aerospace. It is designed to be highly mobile (the rocket and its Ground Support Equipment are transportable in 18-wheeler semi-trailers), and can be launched from a bare, flat launch pad. The vehicle can also--in addition to carrying larger primary payloads inside its two-piece payload fairing--carry multiple CubeSats in a circumferential ring of "CubeSat cubbyhole dispensers" with eject-able doors, located right below the payload fairing's lower edge; these dispensers also facilitate carrying CubeSats loaded very late, just before launch.

__________________
Black Shire--Draft horse in human form, model rocketeer, occasional mystic, and writer, see:
http://www.lulu.com/content/paperba...an-form/8075185
http://www.lulu.com/product/cd/what...of-2%29/6122050
http://www.lulu.com/product/cd/what...of-2%29/6126511
All of my book proceeds go to the Northcote Heavy Horse Centre www.northcotehorses.com.
NAR #54895 SR

I like Kodiak Island.
Home to the best Bears and CHEWING TOBACCO.

__________________
When in doubt, WHACK the GAS and DITCH the brake !!!

Yes, there is such a thing as NORMAL, if you have to ask what is "NORMAL" , you probably aren't !
Failure may not be an OPTION, but it is ALWAYS a POSSIBILITY.
ALL systems are GO for MAYHEM, CHAOS, and HAVOC !

The bears are at least part of the reason why each launch pad has a perimeter fence. I can't speak for the chewing tobacco one way or another; the mare I rode at a rental stable as a teenager liked Red Man chewing tobacco, given to her by one of the stable boys--and she would chew and spit! Also:

The live launch coverage, if any, will appear *here* https://www.rocketlaunch.live/launch/rs1-flight-1 (and YouTube, www.youtube.com , should also run it). SpaceFlightNow.com has posted a mission details article, including its first orbit's ground track (see: https://spaceflightnow.com/2022/11/...launch-attempt/ ).

__________________
Black Shire--Draft horse in human form, model rocketeer, occasional mystic, and writer, see:
http://www.lulu.com/content/paperba...an-form/8075185
http://www.lulu.com/product/cd/what...of-2%29/6122050
http://www.lulu.com/product/cd/what...of-2%29/6126511
All of my book proceeds go to the Northcote Heavy Horse Centre www.northcotehorses.com.
NAR #54895 SR

We had a Golden Retriever/Collie mix when teenagers that would actually chew both Gum and Skoal mint and would not eat it. Only liked Mint Long Cut, not the Winter-Green.
He loved Watermelon Bubble Yum or Hubba Bubba.

__________________
When in doubt, WHACK the GAS and DITCH the brake !!!

Yes, there is such a thing as NORMAL, if you have to ask what is "NORMAL" , you probably aren't !
Failure may not be an OPTION, but it is ALWAYS a POSSIBILITY.
ALL systems are GO for MAYHEM, CHAOS, and HAVOC !

I believe it! His (or her) preference sounds right, too--many dogs like mint (such as in the York Peppermint Patty candy discs), but don't like the "spicy/hot" mints, like Winter-green. Lucy (my mare friend) would chew the Red Man tobacco while standing, or walking or cantering along on our rides, and every few minutes she would lower her head, turn it sideways, and let the "excess juice" pour out; then she would start chewing the plug again. She probably would have liked Bubble Yum and/or Hubba Bubba, too (she insisted--with "peaceful but persuasive force" [she once grabbed the edge of my back pocket in her teeth, so that I couldn't walk away!] --that I share my Ruger wafer candies with her). As far as today's launch seemed to have gone:

I don't think the ABL team launched it--I was only able to find video of the first, scrubbed launch attempt of three days ago (see: https://www.youtube.com/results?sea...=abl+rs1+launch , and especially: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZUbfHANzaM ), and the Space Launch Schedule website's countdown clock (see: https://www.spacelaunchschedule.com...-maiden-flight/ ) is now showing 'all zeroes.' I was picked up by Van Tran (our municipal bus service's disabled para-transit van service) about 20 minutes before 1:00 PM AKST, the planned launch time (the launch window was between 1:00 PM and 4:00 PM AKST). Also:

Space Launch Schedule's online countdown clock was counting down when I left to catch the van downstairs. Plus, I was able to view the perfectly clear southern sky for several minutes before and after 1:00 PM (and later, at intervals, during the window), but no vertical contrail or smoke trail--which the low, southern Sun would have backlit beautifully--rose up from the southern horizon. (When I saw--from the Fairbanks airport--Alaska's first orbital launch, Kodiak Star, whose four satellites were launched aboard an Athena I [see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athena_I and: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacif...E2%80%93_Alaska ] at 2:40 PM on September 30, 2001, it was easily visible; the Castor 120 first stage's smoke trail angled up nearly vertically from the southern horizon, and when it burned out and the Orbus 21D second stage motor took over, its exhaust plume was also plainly visible in the southern sky.) The kerolox-powered RS1's exhaust trail should also be visible in daylight, as experience with Astra's rather similar, kerolox-burning Rocket 3 vehicles (see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_...unches#Rocket_3 ) showed. Also, the RS1 DEMO-1 vehicle's launch campaign extends from November 16 to November 21 (see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ABL_Space_Systems#RS1 ).

__________________
Black Shire--Draft horse in human form, model rocketeer, occasional mystic, and writer, see:
http://www.lulu.com/content/paperba...an-form/8075185
http://www.lulu.com/product/cd/what...of-2%29/6122050
http://www.lulu.com/product/cd/what...of-2%29/6126511
All of my book proceeds go to the Northcote Heavy Horse Centre www.northcotehorses.com.
NAR #54895 SR

Our Mom took a rather "Dim View" to us giving the family dog Chewing tobacco.
Even dimmer when we shared beer with him. Shep on the other hand rather enjoyed us sharing our beer, chewing gum, and Skoal with him.
He was a smart pal. Looked both ways before crossing the road.

__________________
When in doubt, WHACK the GAS and DITCH the brake !!!

Yes, there is such a thing as NORMAL, if you have to ask what is "NORMAL" , you probably aren't !
Failure may not be an OPTION, but it is ALWAYS a POSSIBILITY.
ALL systems are GO for MAYHEM, CHAOS, and HAVOC !

Giving him chocolate (which is toxic to dogs; it's rarely fatal, but it can make them very--and "messily"--ill) would have been far worse. Hopefully Shep didn't have to learn about safe road-crossing in the (canine) "school of hard knocks." (Maggie, our Beagle, and Paaska, our German Shepherd/Border Collie mix [the neighbors said, "She's gorgeous!"] had to first be hit hard--but without any cuts or broken bones, fortunately--by Dad's suburban and a neighbor's motorcycle, respectively, before they became "road and traffic-smart.") Also:

The ABL Space Systems RS1 DEMO-1 vehicle is counting down to a launch at 1:00 PM Saturday afternoon (see: https://www.spacelaunchschedule.com...-maiden-flight/ ), just under 14 hours from now (the launch window runs from 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM, Alaska Standard Time [AKST]).

__________________
Black Shire--Draft horse in human form, model rocketeer, occasional mystic, and writer, see:
http://www.lulu.com/content/paperba...an-form/8075185
http://www.lulu.com/product/cd/what...of-2%29/6122050
http://www.lulu.com/product/cd/what...of-2%29/6126511
All of my book proceeds go to the Northcote Heavy Horse Centre www.northcotehorses.com.
NAR #54895 SR

Nope, Shep was never hit by a car; he did get our childhood Cocker Spaniel killed.
She used to follow him around and one day decided to cross our road alone WITHOUT LOOKING.
Unfortunately she got swatted by an old Ford LTD.
That was sometime in 1975.

__________________
When in doubt, WHACK the GAS and DITCH the brake !!!

Yes, there is such a thing as NORMAL, if you have to ask what is "NORMAL" , you probably aren't !
Failure may not be an OPTION, but it is ALWAYS a POSSIBILITY.
ALL systems are GO for MAYHEM, CHAOS, and HAVOC !

Cockers (like Beagles) are typically not "car and road smart." (Maggie our Beagle even once jumped out of my mother's 1954 Chevrolet Bel-Air when we were moving at about 20 mph; it almost broke her jaw [and did "asphalt sandpaper" her chin, which bled pretty profusely, although briefly]--she never tried that again, but it took that painful lesson to teach her.) My brother Richard's two Cocker Spaniels, Chelsea and her "little sister" Reesie, almost got run over a few times; had he not been there to shout at them to stop, they would have been--much as he hated to do it, he resorted to leashes for outdoor excursions. Sheepdog breeds (and mixes), like Shep, are usually more aware, and have greater situational awareness, because of their herding work (even Pomeranians have herding ability; my Vietnam veteran friend John Evan's standard Pomeranian, Gordon, tried to herd John's five cats from one room to another, and was very frustrated to find that cats can't be herded like sheep--they went in separate directions! :-) ), and:

Space Launch Schedule is now listing Monday, November 21 at 1:00 PM - 4:30 PM AKST as the launch date & time for the RS1 vehicle (see: https://www.spacelaunchschedule.com...-maiden-flight/ ).

__________________
Black Shire--Draft horse in human form, model rocketeer, occasional mystic, and writer, see:
http://www.lulu.com/content/paperba...an-form/8075185
http://www.lulu.com/product/cd/what...of-2%29/6122050
http://www.lulu.com/product/cd/what...of-2%29/6126511
All of my book proceeds go to the Northcote Heavy Horse Centre www.northcotehorses.com.
NAR #54895 SR

The Cocker Spaniel I had with my ex-wife was the most loving beautiful cuddler one could ever ask for. Champion show dog parents. She was never allowed off-leash unless in a fenced-in yard.
She was fairly smart but NOT obedient in the LEAST.

__________________
When in doubt, WHACK the GAS and DITCH the brake !!!

Yes, there is such a thing as NORMAL, if you have to ask what is "NORMAL" , you probably aren't !
Failure may not be an OPTION, but it is ALWAYS a POSSIBILITY.
ALL systems are GO for MAYHEM, CHAOS, and HAVOC !